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Republican Governors Association Chairman Haley Barbour has issued a statement "welcoming" a new entrant to the New York gubernatorial race — his first such move for any of the candidates in the now four-candidate GOP field.

"I would like to welcome my friend Myers Mermel to the race for governor of New York," Barbour said in the statement, which was released by Mermel's campaign. "He is a successful businessman who holds core conservative values and principles."

"His entry is another encouraging sign for Republicans in the New York governor's race," Barbour added. "We look forward to Republicans in New York having a spirited debate about the future of the state, and I am confident the eventual GOP nominee will be competitive in the fall."

The statement stopped well short of an endorsement but was unusual nonetheless.

Despite reports that Barbour's RGA team helped recruit Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy into the race on the Republican side, the chairman wasn't quite as effusive when that candidacy began.

Levy went on to tell people that the RGA had promised his campaign $8 million to $10 million as he pressed his case for the Republican nomination, comments Barbour ultimately had to disavow.

Mermel, a wealthy businessman, had been running for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, without a gubernatorial running mate, before he moved to the governor's race. In addition to Mermel and Levy, former Rep. Rick Lazio and Buffalo developer Carl Paladino are running for the GOP nomination.